Top Ten Best Women’s Physical Games ( 6-10 ) BowlersMart.com

By Michael Cousins

So after our top 10 greatest men’s physical games of all-time, I started thinking, it is only right that we then do a top 10 women’s physical games, as well, right?

Some of these women haven’t had a lot of PWBA success yet, but you have to remember that some of these women were too young to compete when the tour folded, and some of these women were just starting to compete when it folded, thus taking away some of their prime years.

Therefore, unlike how I did it with the men, I will not be using professional titles as a deciding factor in my overall rankings, as many of these girls were too young to compete when the PWBA was at full power.

So today we’ll be looking at some of the most powerful and most aesthetically pleasing physical games the women’s game has to offer. Some of these women are current/future Hall of Famers and the others are young, up and coming players.

As always, if for any reason you haven’t watched any of these women compete, please, do yourself a favor, YouTube them for yourself. I promise you, you won’t be disappointed.

Without further ado, let’s begin!

10) Verity Crawley, Daria Pajak, and Diana Zavjalova: These three young, former Webber University standouts will likely climb this list as they get older, more experience, and have more success, but from a strictly physical standpoint, these three deserve a spot on this list. You can tell they were all very well-coached, but, you can also tell they share uncanny, natural physical abilities. Side-by-side, Crawley and Pajak actually have a lot of similar attributes, which is why I put them tied at ten. And while Zavjalova lacks the power and explosiveness that Crawley and Pajak share, her physical game is just as textbook.

9) Cheryl Daniels: One of the earliest power games in the women’s game. For her time, Daniels could get in and hook it with the best of them. In many ways, Daniels was ahead of her time. She opened her hand at the top of the swing, kept her balance arm out in front of her, and worked the inside of the ball as well as any lady in her era.

8) Shannon O’keefe: As athletic a physical game as the women’s game has ever seen. No doubt. I have never seen a woman utilize her lower body as well as O’keefe does. With the help from her lower body, O’keefe is capable of producing an immense amount of speed and power. You can truly tell when watching O’keefe compete that she is just a spectacular all-around athlete in all walks of life.

7) Tammy Turner: One of my personal favorite women to watch compete. Ever. Tons of power. Level head. Modern game. Great posture and finishing position. Like Cheryl Daniels, Turner was truly ahead of her time. But, in comparison to Daniels, Turner produced even more power.

6) Carolyn Dorin-Ballard: Though she lacked the power that the aforementioned women possessed, Dorin-Ballard is as fundamentally sound as any women’s bowler ever. Textbook. Flawless form. Perfect rhythm and pace. Perfect balance and finishing position. And though later in her career she became known as a straight player, earlier on in her career, you can see Dorin-Ballard on television getting in with some of the power players. She could really do it all. It is no wonder she won as many times as she did.

So there is ten through six. Tomorrow, we will count down from five to one, as well as sharing some honorable mentions that just barely missed the cut.

Make sure you check back tomorrow for the remainder of the list!